Manchester United plotting audacious summer swoop for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins | OneFootball

Manchester United have conceded a club Premier League record 82 goals so far in this campaign but that doesn’t mean the problems are only in defence.

The team has looked toothless in attack without Bruno Fernandes in the last two games and even before that, a lack of attacking patterns has been clear.

Rasmus Hojlund has had a baptism of fire in his debut season at a dream club, often looking overmatched in skill and physicality.

The strategy of buying a young player and throwing him into the deep end to let him learn on the job hasn’t worked out well for United.

It is no wonder then that INEOS’ first order of business in the summer is likely to be getting some help for Hojlund.

Talksport reports that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has identified Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins as the ideal profile of centre-forward he wants at United.

The club is plotting an audacious summer swoop for the former Brentford man, who has scored 27 goals this season across all competitions.

United know that extracting him from Villa will prove to be difficult, especially as they have qualified for the Champions League next season.

Watkins the attacking backbone of Unai Emery’s side and Villa owners are unlikely to want to alienate their elite manager who recently signed a new contract by selling his star player.

Nonetheless, United are determined to try and would hope that the lure of Old Trafford and the promise of leading United into a new era prompts Watkins into action.

Roy Keane recently backed Watkins as the perfect striker for United as well so the charm offensive from ex-players is well and truly on.

The striker signed a five-year deal just last year and there is reportedly no release clause so any negotiations for him are likely to begin in the triple-figure territory, if at all.

It’s not an easy deal to make, but the kind that kickstarts eras at clubs. The question for United is, can they afford to spend so much on one position when there is a whole squad to rebuild?

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